A few days went by and nothing of note happened. Charlie had met Debbie from the solicitors and had a pleasant lunch but no plans were made for another more intimate get together.
He had also seen Chloe from the estate agents; again very cordial but nothing was mentioned about getting together again.
He was watching TV when the door bell rang. He went to the door and opened it to see Sue there. Her face looked like thunder.
"You bastard!" she hissed, punching him with both hands.
He tried to protect himself by grabbing both her hands.
"Hey, steady on!" he said. "What the hell,"
"You knew. You knew all along. How could you Charlie?"
"What? Look come in; tell me what the hell is going on," he said dragging her in and shutting the door.
"You knew, you bastard," she screamed. "You knew Barry had been shagging Jane. You fucking well caught them at it. But you played the dumb idiot so you could fuck me. You bastard!"
"Hey come, on," he said. "I admit I didn't tell you about Barry, but that was to protect you and maybe let you salvage your marriage. And you weren't exactly an unwilling participant in the shagging stakes were you Sue. Now come and sit down. What happened, as if I didn't know?"
She started crying and Charlie went and got some tissues. Wine didn't seem appropriate.
Between sobs, Sue told Charlie that she and Barry had had a big row, and during the row, he told her he had had an affair with Jane and that Charlie had caught them together.
"Did you tell him about us?" he asked.
"Why, are you worried?"
"No, I just wondered."
"No I didn't," she said. "Should I have done?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "It's all messed up so probably doesn't matter now."
"Why didn't you tell me Charlie?"
"As I said, I tried to protect you."
She was getting her crying under control.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"Don't know," she said, "probably divorce him."
"Isn't the marriage saveable?"
She shook her head. "He played away."
"Sue, sorry to point something out, but so did you!"
"That's different."
He laughed. "Why, because you didn't get caught?"
She nodded, but smiled as the absurdity of the situation dawned on her.
"Charlie, lets face it, the marriage was dead, as it seems yours was, so we might as well be sensible and finish it. We don't love each other, haven't for ages and we make each other unhappy. I wouldn't have gone to bed with you if I was happy with Barry."
"Well thanks for nothing; I'm a sympathy fuck now am I?"
"No, I didn't mean it that way. I have no regrets and loved every thing we did. I also hope we can do it again," she said looking at him longingly.
Neither spoke for a moment.
"Can I have a drink please?" she asked.
"Sure, wine?"
Sue nodded.
He went to get the wine, soon reappearing with two glasses and an open bottle.
"Have you seen anything of Jane?" Sue asked.
"Yes," he said. "I saw here a few days ago."
"How are things?"
"Actually, they are fine," he answered. "We're getting on better than we have for ages. We're not getting back together but we are civil to each other."
"That's good," she said thoughtfully. "It shows that there is hope."
He nodded.
The door bell rang. They both looked at each other. "Does Barry know you are here?" he asked.
"No," she shook her head.
He got up and opened the door. Jane stood there. "Hi," she smiled brightly,
"Hello," he hesitatingly answered.
"I'm interrupting something aren't I?" she said trying not to make it obvious she was looking around him.
Before he could say or do anything, Sue appeared. "Hello Jane,"
"Hi Sue," she replied, surprised to see Sue of all people in what had been her house.
"Look, come in." Charlie said. "I think we all need to talk and clear the air."
Jane stepped in and they all walked into the lounge.
"I'm sorry if I am interrupting anything," Jane said, seeing the two glasses on the table.
"No, you're not," both Charlie and Sue answered, almost in unison.
"Let me get you a drink Jane," Charlie said, "meantime, please sit down."
He returned with a glass. The two women were not talking, the atmosphere was tense. He filled a glass with wine and handed it to Jane.
"Look, let's try and clear the air Jane. Sue has just found out about you and Barry."
Jane let out a gasp and looked aghast. She was about to say something, when Charlie stopped her.
"And Sue and I have had a bit of fun too, so she cant take the moral high ground," he said looking at Sue, "especially as what happened between us happened before she knew about Barry and you," He looked at Jane.
"This is probably very uncomfortable for both of you, especially as you were friends. None of us come out of this well, but we are all consenting adults and have to live by our actions. Hopefully we can be civil."
Jane looked at Charlie, "Your right, but Sue I have to say sorry. I was wrong and shouldn't have..."
"Stop it Jane," Sue interrupted her, getting up to hug her. "As Charlie says we have all done wrong, but we have done things with our eyes open, well most of the time," she smiled, "and have to now go forward. If things were well between Barry and me, I guess he wouldn't have, you know, got together with you. Equally if you and Charlie were happy, you wouldn't have got together with Barry. I know if I was happy, I would have resisted Charlie," she smiled.
"So, let's drink to that," Charlie said, pleased the atmosphere was lighter and the women hadn't started scratching each others eyes out.
They all raised their glasses.
"Charlie tells me that you guys are getting on better," Sue said talking to Jane.
Jane nodded; "yes, much better. Sometimes too well," giving Charlie a sly glance.
Sue looked confused by her last statement.
"She doesn't mean we are getting back together, but we have got on very well at times," Charlie quickly added.
"Does that mean what I think it means?" Sue asked.
